INDEPENDENT Helen Dalton is projected to retain the seat of Murray with a sizeable swing towards her, as Labor sweeps to power in NSW.
The incumbent Mrs Dalton was backed by voters over nine other candidates, including Edward River mayor and Nationals candidate Peta Betts.
As of Saturday night, 48.3 per cent of the vote in Murray had been counted and Mrs Dalton had a 12.6 per cent swing in her favour.
The only counted booth where The Nationals received more votes than Mrs Dalton was Euston Public School.
Mrs Dalton said her team had difficulty manning that booth on election day and her stance on poker machine reform had irritated ClubsNSW.
“I think ClubsNSW may have convinced those people (in Euston) that I’m the baddie, but they haven’t convinced anyone else,” she said.
If the voting trend continued, Murray would no longer be marginal.
Mrs Dalton said she’s been working hard to keep the electorate’s needs squarely on the government’s mind.
“I have been speaking to the Coalition and Labor over the last 12 months asking for certain things,” she said.
“We’ve already secured a number of things just in the last couple of weeks, obviously pending on the outcome of the election.”
Mrs Dalton said Labor committed $2 million to complete a study into motor neurone disease in the Riverina, where Macquarie University will look at what impact water quality has on people’s health.
She said Labor also committed to de-merge two high schools in Griffith and assess the structure of the Murrumbidgee and Far West local health districts.
“They are far too big, so there’s a special inquiry into the structure of all of that,” she said.
“We’ve secured assurance that would be done – and I’m really wanting a pilot scheme where we go back to our own hospital boards with our own hospital budgets.”
Mrs Dalton said the biggest focus for the west of the electorate over the next four years would be ongoing discussions about water quality and floodplain harvesting.
“I think we need to do a lot of talking federally and to state water ministers about how they’ve done water management for political purposes, and not for communities and the environment,” Mrs Dalton said.
“We’re tired of all of that, and our rivers are.
“With this current fish kill, it is catastrophic with what has happened and something has got to change with the management of the rivers.”
Labor will form government after 12 years in Opposition and leader Chris Minns said he was eager to provide the state with “a fresh start”.
“The people of NSW voted to put in a government that would put people at the heart of all decision making, and we will not let them down,” Mr Minns said.
The Coalition is projected to lose at least seven of its seats and former premier Dom Perrottet stood aside as the party leader on Saturday night.
Labor is now in government in every mainland state and territory in Australia.
Vote counting will resume today.
CUTTING REMARKS
MEMBER for Murray Helen Dalton has responded to a series of videos uploaded by Nationals Upper House MP Wes Fang in posts labelling her abusive and unfit for parliament.
Captions for the videos accused Mrs Dalton of removing Nationals corflutes from a Griffith polling booth with scissors and abusing a Nationals volunteer at a pre-poll centre.
She said the voters had spoken and sent a clear message to the Coalition to “pull up your socks”.
“We want to solve some of the longstanding problems that we’ve got rather than to personally attack people,” Mrs Dalton said.
“I think the way they handled themselves, these personal attacks on myself and my family, it just doesn’t cut through any more.
“If he concentrated on policies he’d be far better off and (he should) get policy settings right for our electorate.
“That’s actually what his job is, not to carry on with all the rot that’s been going on for years and years.”
In response, Mr Fang said Mrs Dalton can’t work with anyone.
“If Helen Dalton gave a solemn commitment she wouldn’t personally attack anyone during this coming term of Government, it would mean she’d be silent for four years,” Mr Fang said.
“Helen Dalton speaks of her wish to focus on policy over personal attacks. Her record of attacking those who disagree with her, or even simply differ in opinion, is lengthy and infamous.
“Her disgraceful display on election day was unedifying and unnecessary and goes to show her character and approach to every issue.”
